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My 9 Favourite Video Game Endings (with Honourable Mentions)https://muslisms.com/2018/10/04/my-favourite-video-game-endings-with-honourable-mentions/
https://muslisms.com/2018/10/04/my-favourite-video-game-endings-with-honourable-mentions/#respondThu, 04 Oct 2018 12:40:39 +0000http://muslisms.com/?p=1076Continue reading My 9 Favourite Video Game Endings (with Honourable Mentions)]]>As video games have evolved, so have the stories they tell. What started as simply “eat all the pellets” or “get the most points” gradually grew to “save the princess” and then “save the galaxy”.

Sometimes a game’s story doesn’t have to be particularly rich or detailed to have a great ending. Sometimes it’s just the right combination of elements that come together in the last 10 minutes to create a truly memorable ending.

For this list, I’ve limited it only to games that I have finished (sorry, Chrono Trigger, one day I’ll finish you). These are the video game endings that had the biggest impact on me, and have really stuck in my mind long after the credits finished rolling.

And, obviously, spoilers for all the games below.

Pokémon Silver

Best Sequel. Period

Source: Resetera

Red and Blue? Silver and Gold? Generation 1 vs Generation 2 is a debate that continues among Pokémon fans to this day, but one thing can be agreed on: the “ending” of Pokémon Gold /Silver is probably one of the most unexpected and joyous surprises in the history of gaming. After getting your 8 badges and defeating the Johto Pokémon League, a train opens up. You hop on and soon find yourself back in the Kanto Region, the country from the original game! You get to revisit the towns from the first game, fight the original 8 gym leaders and go through the Kanto Pokémon League. It’s basically a whole game’s worth of content tacked on as a love letter to fans of the original and it culminates in a showdown on top of a mountain with your trainer from the first game. Oof, I got shivers just thinking about that.

Super Mario 64

Best Celebration of Your Adventure

Source: YouTube

Super Mario 64 was an unforgettable experience for me. I first played it at a demo kiosk in ToysRUs and my little 8-year-old brain was blown at the rich 3D playground at my disposal, and the seemingly limitless potential of going anywhere as Mario dashing and flipping with a “Yah! Wahoo! WA-HAH!” in 3D space. I followed many a preview in many a gaming magazine, pouring over ever screenshot and detail. After I got my Nintendo 64, I played Super Mario 64 in chunks over the next couple years. I played it slowly, savouring each moment that I could. When the time came and I faced down Bowser for the last time, I had grown up in the real world but the game still held it’s child-like glee. The game’s ending is a montage of swooping aerial shots from all the levels you had just been through, coupled with a beautiful score. There were so many “I remember that place” moments. Up until that point, I don’t think I had ever experienced a credits scene that served as a gentle reminder of the adventure you’ve just been on. Plus, you get to see that cake Princess Peach promised us from the beginning of the game.

And, as a sidenote, if you collect all 120 stars a cannon opens up in the main castle courtyard, and if you shoot up to the roof Yoshi appears to give you 100 lives. I had read there was a way to get to the top of the castle without the cannon, and after many frustrating, near-controller-breaking attempts, I managed—and only found an empty rooftop.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Most Perfect Ending

Source: Giant Bomb

Ocarina of Time is still my favorite game of all time. It was the first Zelda game I completed, and I fondly remember playing it at the same time as my Dad (we each had our own save files), which would be our tradition up until Twilight Princess. I remember beating the game on a dinky TV/VCR combo we had in our family trailer in Radium, BC, but I was no less taken by the ending. Zelda and Link say their goodbye’s, and we’re left to assume they go their separate ways. Much like Mario 64, the ending shows off many of the locales you’ve visited on your adventure, and builds up to a party where you get to see all of the major characters one last time as they celebrate your victory over Ganon. But the best part is the final scene where a young Link returns to Zelda’s garden, and the young princess turns around and is surprised to see him. The scene freezes as the two met once again. What your left with is a quietly emotional coda with so many questions, none of which need answering. Does Zelda remember Link? Do they both remember the adventure they just had? Where do they go from here? Any attempt at answering these questions would just undermine what is, to be, a perfect video game ending.

Mass Effect 2

Best Sustained Dose of Adrenaline

Source: YouTube

Mass Effect 3 gets a lot of flak for it’s ending, and while it’s a little underwhelming, I didn’t think the outrage was completely justified. That said, Mass Effect 2 is definitely the peak of the Mass Effect series. The whole game is really a journey of beefing up you, your team and your ship against the Collectors. Then the final mission starts (aptly titled “Suicide Mission” because it can actually end in Commander Shepherd’s permanent death). That half-synth, half-orchestral score comes on, your team gets ready to storm the Collectors ship, and you’re like, “Yeah! Let’s freaking DO THIS!”
Then you lose half your squad like an idiot because you didn’t select the right squad configuration for the mission and/or didn’t get the right upgrades for your ship. So you look up the optional upgrades you need, and the right squad configurations for the right sections of the mission, possibly start your game over, and try again (all explained in chart form). The whole mission is a war of escalation, ending with a face off against a colossal human/Reaper hybrid. The whole thing is epic , and when it’s all done you’re ready to start over and do it all again (which I did).

Journey

Best Approximation of a Religious Experience

Source: YouTube

When I first heard about Journey, I was worried it would just be a long, boring walk through the desert. Thankfully I was wrong. Thatgamecompany (not a typo) crafted a mysterious and engaging world revealing only pieces of the back story through environmental cues and dialogue-free cutscenes. The game relies on emotion and intuition to tell the story, and it does so masterfully. The finale sees you trudging slowly, painfully through a blizzard near the top of the mountain you have been walking towards the whole time. Your movement slows but you push on. Slowly, you realize you aren’t going to make it. All seems lost, and your traveler sinks into the snow. And just then, shadowy figures revive your fallen traveler and you blast through the storm and find yourself finally at the peak, dancing in the air. It has to be experienced to be understood. And, at the end of it, your traveler calmly walks through a valley, and into the light. A flit of light then glides gracefully through all the places you’ve just been to on your journey, before going back to the guideposts where the game began. Then, a new traveler wakes up and begins it all again.

Celeste

Best Journey of Self Discovery and Cramped Fingers

Source: Useless Analysis

I’ve already written about how much I loved Celeste. It’s a graceful but challenging game with an underlying theme of self discovery and a surprisingly nuanced focus on mental health. The final level is an ascent to the peak of the mountain, with both Madeline and her once-evil reflection (known as “Bad-eline”) working together. The soundtrack gives you shivers and pumps you up as you go through a gauntlet of areas that call back to the levels you’ve before it. At this point, all of the skills you’ve learned are put to the test, and guideposts keep counting down how close you are to the summit. And at the end, Madeline reaches the top and you’re treated to a calming denouement of Madeline sitting on the peak, watching the sunrise. You feel the relief with her, and there’s definitely a feeling of accomplishment. Like Journey, Celeste’s ending is an emotional rollercoaster, albeit with a much happier outcome.

The Walking Dead: Season One (Telltale)

Best “In Not Crying, You’re Crying” Moment

Source: Walking Dead Wikia

The Walking Dead, as a franchise, isn’t really known for subtlety. That’s partly why the Telltale’s “The Walking Dead” is such a surprise and why it continues to be one of my favourite games today. Throughout the game you play as Lee, a good-natured man with a dark past and surrogate father to Clementine, a young girl who managed to survive the zombie outbreak. The Walking Dead is a game about choice, and often you’re presented with difficult or morally questionable situations with no clear “right choice”. Usually both choices suck in their own way. So when Lee gets bitten and is chained to a pipe to prevent himself from harming Clementine, you have to choose not only Lee’s final words to Clementine, but also whether or not she (chokes back tears) has to shoot the only family she has left. The game has some of the best written characters in a video game, and watching the relationship between Lee and Clem grow, only to have it taken away in the end, is a tragedy— but a testament to just how invested you become in these characters.

Curse of Monkey Island

Best Vanilla Happy Ending

Source: Giant Bomb

Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with a plain vanilla happy ending. I grew up with the zany Monkey Island series. I played the first game with my Dad, and by the time I was in high school I showed Curse of Monkey Island to my friends and it became instantly quotable (“Is it a really evil-looking doorstop?”). Even though the final section of the game was drastically cut down to meet deadlines, the rest of the game is still a blast. Sure, it’s a little easy to pass through (and this being a LucasArts game, you can’t actually die), but the sight of long-time will-they-wont-they lovers Guybrush and Elaine sailing off into the sunrise with a “Just Married” sign strung across the rear of their ship is simple, sweet and satisfying. Sometimes, all you need is a simple, heartwarming ending.

Super Mario Odyssey

Best Catharsis

Source: Nintendo Wikia

Super Mario Odyssey is a celebration of the many decades of Mario. As usual, Mario is in pursuit of Bowser, who has kidnapped Princess Peach, and by now you get the drift. On the way he meets Cappy, a humorous and lighthearted brain-parasite lovingly shaped like Mario’s hat that can hack into the minds of whatever Mario throws him at — don’t think too much about this one, just enjoy the colorful visuals, bouncy music and great level design. The end has you facing off against Bowser in a lava-filled underground cave on the moon (as one does) but as you land the final blow, the cave starts to collapse around you. And then, without any button prompts or text telling you to do so, you instinctively toss Mario’s hat Cappy onto an unconscious Bowser, taking control of him. What follows is a gleeful rampage through a collapsing, lava-filled cavern as you smash your way through rock walls and boulders to escape. It’s just pure gaming joy.

Dead Space 2

Best Fake Out

From YouTube – Channel: “Unlimited”

Dead Space is what Resident Evil 5 should have been. However, it carved out its own story with detailed lore, gross creatures and peek-between-your-fingers tension. The first game ends in a typical “the monster isn’t dead!” fashion typical of 80s slasher flicks. Protagonist Isaac Clarke escapes the infested Ishimura and, while mourning his dead girlfriend turns to see her crawling on the floor where she pounces, eyes glowing and then – – cut to black. Dead Space 2 tops this with a double fake-out. For starters, after the final boss, the facility around Issac starts to collapse, and after seeing no way out, Issac sits and accepts his fate. The credits start to roll as the facility collapses around him, and you’re left thinking this is the end. Then fellow survivor Ellie chimes in on the radio, chastising Issac for giving up. An anti-gravity chase through debris and explosions occur, and Issac boards the escape ship. The following scene mimics the original game’s ending almost beat-for-beat, with similar camera movements, similar actions, and as the camera pans over we’re expecting something awful yet again–but instead we just see fellow survivor Ellie (name) who just asks Issac, “What?” Cut to black. It’s a clever fake-out, and I feel it’s where Issac Clarke’s story should have ended until EA did what EA do and we got Dead Space 3.

Honourable Mentions

King Kong (2005)

Best Wish Fulfillment

Unless you’ve somehow managed to avoid almost a hundred years of cinematic and pop culture history, you know the monkey dies in the end. Beauty killed the beast (and left the New York Sanitation Department with a bad surprise the day after). But in the surprisingly great (and excessively titled) Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, you can unlock a secret ending in which you save Kong and return him to Skull Island. In doing so, you’ll play the final level as Jack Driscoll, shooting down the planes that are targeting Kong (which I’m sure would probably qualify as treason). If successful you’re treated to a much happier ending where Kong is returned to Skull Island to his life of… terrorizing natives? What does Kong do in his spare time? Maybe Jack hops ship and chills with Kong for the rest of his life to escape conviction. In any case, if you saw the 2005 movie and really wanted Kong to survive, the video game offers some closure in that regard.

Mother 3

Best Anticlimactic Ending

Mother 3, like it’s predecessor Earthbound, is bizarre. Just Google “Mother 3 enemies” and you’ll see the kind of strangeness you’ll be up against when you play. But, like Earthbound, it’s equal parts funny and emotional. The ending, however, is surprisingly apocalyptic. Lucas pulls the final pin out of the ground, awaking a dormant dragon. The island starts rumbling, volcanoes explode, tornadoes form, rocks and debris fly everywhere. A massive, glowing crater opens up on the island and then: fade to black. The words “End?” appear on the screen and that’s it. It’s only after waiting and staring at a blank screen for a few minutes that you realize you are still in control of your character and you keep walking through the darkness. As you do, characters through the game greet you and thank you for all that you have done, and reassure you everyone is ok. It’s weird, anti-climactic, but surprisingly sweet as everyone says goodbye to you.

LittleBigPlanet (series)

Best game that never ends

Sometimes a game is just so good that you don’t want it to end. Thankfully, the combined total of user-created levels across all the LittleBigPlanet games is enough to keep you occupied until the sun dies out. I have the most fond memories of LittleBigPlanet 2, with its assortment of playing styles. The user-made levels are (usually) a blast to play. Some of these levels are freaky, some of them are genuinely surprising, and some make you want to build levels all on your own.

Pikmin

Best “What?” Ending

I’m actually referring to the “bad” ending for this one. In Pikmin, pint-sized astronaut Olimar is stranded on a strange planet that may be a post-apocalyptic version of our own (link) and has 30 days to recover his ship parts before running out of life support. To help him, he enlists (and I use that word very literally) a small army of creatures called Pikmin that he can command like a general. At the end of the 30 days, if you haven’t managed your time well Olimar will run out of life support. But then, the Pikmin will take him back to one of their little ships (typically where you harvest fallen enemies into more Pikmin). The ship will suck him up and spit out a little seed that hits the ground and sprouts a little Olimar-shaped face. I mean, technically he survived. But it’s just such a weird ending.

To The Moon

Best “I’m still not crying” ending

What if you could implant memories of a life you never lived? That’s the gist behind indie game “To The Moon”, a narrative-driven game where you play as a scientist going through the memories of a dying client to implant a memory of them going to the moon. If it sounds like Inception, it kind of is. The game touches on grief and regret, and by the end credits with its tear-jerking piano solo you’re left with a bittersweet conclusion as the client dies happy believing he went to the moon, while we live with the knowledge that it was not real.

]]>https://muslisms.com/2018/10/04/my-favourite-video-game-endings-with-honourable-mentions/feed/0aaronwannamakerSuper Mario 64 ending screen, with a cake!Link and Zelda stand in a courtyard of flowers.Isaac Clark sits on a platform in a collapsing facility.10 Games to Play Instead of Monopolyhttps://muslisms.com/2018/07/01/10-games-to-play-instead-of-monopoly/
https://muslisms.com/2018/07/01/10-games-to-play-instead-of-monopoly/#respondSun, 01 Jul 2018 23:59:50 +0000http://muslisms.com/?p=1072Continue reading 10 Games to Play Instead of Monopoly]]>More fun, less capitalism.

I could unload a tirade of why I don’t like Monopoly, but I’ll cut straight to the point: it’s dated, and no matter what kind of spin you put on it (yes, even Nintendo or Pokemon Monopoly) the mechanics are repetitive, unfair and it takes too freaking long.

In recent years there’s been a surge of new and exciting tabletop games. They allow you to play as doctor’s working to cure deadly diseases around the world, treasure seekers looking for treasure on a sinking island, monsters fighting for reign over a city, survivors of a zombie apocalypse, werewolves, galactic empires and even trees. Yes, trees (and it’s awesome).

Table top games can range from simple to incredibly complex. I usually pick games that are somewhere in the middle. These games have specific rules to follow, but you can usually grasp them within a couple turns of playing the game. The games I list below will mostly be in this category, and are perfect for a family or group of friends who’ve played Monopoly a few too many times.

10. Settlers of Catan

From Catan.com

Settlers of Catan is sometimes considered the game that sparked the new wave of tabletop games. It would probably be the most familiar to Monopoly, in that it focuses a lot on resource development, trading and occasionally messing over your opponents. Catan was my introduction to the wonderful world of tabletop games. The rules are pretty straightforward: you and your opponents are, well, settling the island of Catan. Wherever you build your settlements are where you will be collecting resources from, which in turn allows you to build more roads, settlements, and so on.

Much like Monopoly, the most ruthless players can get a leg-up on others, especially if they’re good at negotiating. I’ve played games with friends that have been tense with suspicion, backstabbing and the frequent bickering. It relies a little too much on having a good run of dice throws, hence why it’s at the bottom of the list. However, the island is customizable, and expansions add new and more challenging aspects, such as multiple islands, barbarians, pirates and more. The most recommended expansion is the Seafarers expansion, which opens up multiple islands and ocean trade routes.

In Carcassone, you work against other players to build a map of towns, roads and farms out of a bag of tiles. It’s surprisingly relaxing, and building your set of connected roads and towns is surprisingly satisfying.

9. Ticket to Ride

From Daysofwonder.com

Easily one of the most accessible and most appealing tabletop games out there, Ticket to Ride is a fantastic introduction to modern tabletop games. The rules are simple enough to grasp within a few turns of playing, but there’s a hidden element of strategy as you and 3 other players build your railway empire over a map of early 1900s North America. The game works using train cards, which you can collect each turn and use to build railways. Your “tickets” are major routes between two cities that, if connected, net you a lot of points—but if you fail to connect them, those points are deducted from you at the end of the game.

Growing up, we didn’t play a lot of board games in my house. But when I introduced my Dad to this game he just became absorbed with it. Now almost every time we visit, we’ll break out Ticket to Ride, or the Europe expansion, and usually about halfway through we start trying to cut off each other’s routes.

I’d say that if you had to pick one game as a trial to replace Monopoly with, Ticket to Ride is the way to go.

In Tsuro, players place tiles with connected paths on a grid and move their character along the path. It’s very quick to play, easy to understand, and includes some light strategy because you can send your opponents off the edge of the map—or crash into them if you’re not careful.

8. Sushi Go Party

From Gamewright.com

Sushi Go is what’s called a draft-building card game. Everyone starts out with a hand of cards, picks the one they want, then passes the rest of their deck to the person beside them. Not all cards are equal, obviously, and some require you to plan ahead or change your strategy if you want to succeed.

An expanded version of Sushi Go, the Party edition adds a board, many additional cards, and a “menu” system that allows you to customize the cards in the game deck, adding or reducing complexity depending on the cards you choose. It can be played with several people and is a really lighthearted, relatively quick game to play.

Plus, I mean, just look at the artwork: it’s just so freaking adorable.

Arctic Scavengers is a deck-building game where you and other players act as a leader of a post-apocalyptic tribe, and you must scavenge the wastes for resources and fight other players for contested resources. The game is usually bundled with its 2 expansions, which add more complexity and variety to the game.

7. Codenames

From Czechgames.com

There are a lot of party games out there that can be scaled up, depending on the number of people playing. Some are on this list, others include Apples to Apples and 5 Second Rule. But one of the most clever is Codenames.

In this game, you are split into 2 teams. Each round, 25 codename cards are put in the field, and the Spymaster has to give his team clues as to which agents are on their team. Clues consist of a single word, and the number of agents on the field that relate to that word. For instance, if you have agents named “Cloud”, “Rain” and “Bird” your clue could be “Sky: 3”. It helps if you’re playing with friends you know well, because then you know what references will work with them (for instance, on time my friend had an impressive play by just saying “Miyagi 3”, and his team was able to get all 3 agents based on Karate Kid references).

Another fun group game, in Scattergories you work in a team to come up with a list of words based on a letter. You are given a card that has a list of 12 random categories and you have to come up with a response to each of them using a word that starts with the chosen letter.

6. King of Tokyo

From iellogames.com

Imagine the big, cheesy kaiju movies of the 60s (usually Godzilla VS Whatever) and now imagine that you get to play as one of those monsters and battle other monsters for control over Tokyo. That’s King of Tokyo. It’s goofy, and the artwork is charming (I particularly like Space Penguin), and its “King of the Hill” style gameplay is one you don’t see very often in board games.

Each turn a player roles a set of dice three times, each time setting aside dice they want to use. Each side of the dice allows you to either:

· attack

· heal

· draw energy

· gain victory points

You can spend energy on upgrades from a deck of cards that act kind of like an upgrade store. You have to know when to cut your losses, because while you are in Tokyo all the other monsters can attack you and you can’t heal. You can give up your spot to any attacker, putting them in the hotseat while you heal.

I’d say the only downside is that once a monster is defeated, that player has to sit out of the rest of the game.

Century: Golem Edition is a resource-management game where you try and trade up or change your resources to purchase helpful stone golems. The artwork alone is charming enough to make the game worth it, but the gameplay is also fun and engaging.

5. Taboo

From Hasbro.com

I was stuck between choosing Taboo, Concept or Apples to Apples. But my choice came down to 2 factors:

1. How much fun I had playing the game

2. How often I played it

I’m a sucker for word games, and Taboo is all about word guessing. Like Funemployed above, it can easily be played in large groups, and is meant to be played in teams. With each round, teams select one player who has to get their team to guess the words printed on a set of cards. The trick is that they can’t use one of the “Taboo” words printed underneath the word on the card. They have to get through as many cards as they can in 60 seconds.

The stress of the timer, as well as the taboo words, make this a tense game, especially for the poor sucker at the front who has to try and describe a word to their team. You have to get creative and think on your feet, but the results are usually hilarious.

Basically this is Charades: The Board Game. You play on a board of icons and images, and use coloured cubes to highlight certain concepts that make up a word. It sounds boring, but requires a lot of mental gymnastics on the part of the silent player who is trying to form a word using only cubes on icons to represent a concept.

4. Funemployed

From Entertainmentearth.com

Out of all the games on this list, Funemployed is definitely the one I’ve laughed the hardest while playing. The gist is that you apply for real-world jobs with absurd qualifications. The game consists of 2 decks of cards: job cards and qualification cards. Each turn, one player acts as the manager, interviewing the other players who have been given a hand of qualification cards, and then deciding who is the most qualified.

The fun of the game comes from trying to justify your qualifications for each job. You could be applying for the job of flight attendant, but your qualifications are “kleptomaniac”, “Russian accent”, “fluffy” and “literally the worst”. Or perhaps you are applying to be a singer, but you are a cyborg alien who has gas.

This game is great for larger gatherings. For families, it’s worth noting that some cards lean a bit on the inappropriate side (it is rated 18+ after all), but they can easily be taken out of play.

Who would win in a fight between a lightsaber-wielding Barack Obama and Spiderman inside a giant hamster ball? In this game, two players draw cards to form their own bizarre fighter, and then each has to justify to the rest of the players why their fighter would win. As with Funemployed, families should go through the cards first to see if there’s any cards they would like to remove from play.

3. Photosynthesis

From Blueorangegames.com

One thing I appreciate about a lot of the new board games coming out is that there’s usually an interesting blend between a game’s mechanics and its theme. What I mean is that the setting, characters, and events in a game tie in with how the game is actually played. This is very true with Photosynthesis. It’s a game that, on paper, doesn’t sound very exciting: you play as trees, and your goal is to spread your seeds, harvest the maximum amount of sunlight to grow and, at the end of a tree’s lifecycle, get cut down for points. Yet the game quickly evolves into a strategic game of knowing how to spread your seeds closer into the board, where there are more points, while also cutting off sunlight from your competitors and knowing the best time to cut down your trees.

Every round the sun moves around the board, and taller trees cast shadows over smaller ones (including your own). I think what impresses me most about Photosynthesis is that once you grasp the rules, it just kind of makes sense. Trees sprout from other trees, need sunlight to grow, and from the sunlight you gather you can “purchase” more trees and seeds to use. There’s no boosts, no extra perks, no luck involved: just pure strategy.

Quantumis the priciest game on this list, an arguably the rarest, but it is definitely worth it. It’s a strategy game where you control a fleet of ships, represented by large dice, and are trying to harvest energy from planets in the galaxy. Each side of the dice represents a different class of ship with a different ability, and you are able to develop your faction as well as the game progresses.

2. Forbidden Island

From Gamewright.com

Forbidden Island was the first board game that my wife and I got in to. What’s interesting about this game is that you are actually playing against the game. You and the other players have to work as a team to hunt down treasure on an island which is gradually, tile-by-tile, sinking into the sea. You have to cooperate and strategize together in order to survive, and it’s likely that your first few games will end with you and your team mates sinking along with the island. There’s been several times that I’ve played this game and sometimes winning or losing comes down to a single turn.

Because the game is tile-based, there are many different island configurations you can play on (or just make up your own) as well as a sliding scale of difficulty so you can always keep the game challenging

I actually find Forbidden Desert to be the more enjoyable game, but its rules are a bit more complicated than Island and so its better to familiarize yourself with how Island is played before moving up. Basically, you and your fellow players are stranded in a desert and need to find parts to a finding machine buried in the desert. The mechanics are very impressive, including a raging storm that shifts every turn, burying other players and objects and hindering your progress.

1. Pandemic

From Zmangames.com

There’s a reason that Pandemic is considered one of the best games ever made. It is a cooperative game in which you and up to 3 friends must work together to find cures for 4 deadly diseases that are spreading out of control across the world. Teamwork, strategy and communication are a must as you work to cure and contain diseases. You play against the game and, like Forbidden Desert, you will most likely fail the first couple of times.

Players are given a character, each with special skills, and using these skills is essential in learning how to beat the game. You must communicate and plan with other players as you each spread out across the globe, containing outbreaks and curing hotspots, but with each turn you’re in risk of triggering an Epidemic. When that occurs, diseases intensify and spread to other cities, which can easily trigger a chain reaction of outbreaks that can cripple your game unless you’re playing smart.

Of all the games in my collection, this is the one I recommend above all others and the one I’ve played the most. Every game is different, especially if you’re using different characters and different difficulty settings. It’s expertly designed and, above all, it’s fun and intense.

Pandemic has a lot of expansions and variations, but the one that is often most recommended is On The Brink. This expansion adds a 5th disease, extra characters, new epidemic cards, and the ability for a player to play as a bioterrorist who works against the players by spreading diseases around the world.

Muhammad Ali once said, “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

The game Celeste, is filled with these pebbles: a mis-timed jump, a boost used too early, a ledge you held onto for too long until Madeline, the game’s protagonist, falls to her doom. She hits the spikes—boom—and you start over try again. And again. And again.

Obviously, in real life a fall into a spike pit is a bit more permanent. But that feeling of trying to cross an impossible gap or climb an impossible mountain is all to familiar to people who live with mental illness. It’s very fitting, then, that Celeste is a game about climbing that mountain, and despite all the slips and missteps and mistakes, picking yourself up and trying again. More than that, however, is that Celeste is about accepting parts of yourself that may seem negative, rather than fighting them.

The worrying life

When I was a kid, I worried about everything. As an easily frightened child with an overactive imagination, my fears and worries ranged from everything to the minute (ghosts and vampires) to the cosmic (black holes and meteors).

Around the time I was in Junior High school, these anxieties became obsessive. They only escalated as time went on. I was plagued by dark thoughts, and sometimes they would get so bad that I felt like I couldn’t get rid of them. They would latch onto my brain and every time I tried to fight them off, they just came back stronger. Sometimes I would obsess over a single worry or thought for months, and would wrack my brain trying to find ways of “proving” these thoughts were wrong. I would sometimes fall into a depression because of this.

If this seems vague, it’s because I don’t want to share these thoughts.

When I was a teen, I would imagine that one day I would grow up and all this anxiety, obsession and depression would go away. I thought it was a part of me that I had to get rid of, and that it would either die off or I would find a way to kill it.

“This mountain is a strange place”

Celeste is a game without a traditional antagonist.

Very early on in the game, Madeline comes across a mirror that shows a dark reflection of herself. This dark part of her breaks free and proceeds to antagonize her and taunt her as she continues her climb. She’s a manifestation of all of Madeline’s cynicism, doubts, anxieties –all the parts of her she feels is holding her back.

Yet Celeste does something unexpected: this dark part of Madeline is not the antagonist of the story. At first she may seem like it, especially when she’s chasing you or tossing fire at you. But as Madeline continues her climb, she reaches a point where she realizes that this dark manifestation is part of her. When Madeline says, “You’re a part of me that I need to let go”, the dark part of her becomes enraged and Madeline plummets deep into the mountain’s caves.

In the game, the only real antagonist is Madeline herself. She is never really sure why she wants to climb this mountain, only that she feels she’ll find some closure by doing so. And when she falls into the mountain’s caves, she realizes that the only way she can climb this mountain is to face the dark part of her self, and find a way for the two of them to understand and accept each other.

Acceptance

When I was 23 years old I was hit with the worst bout of anxiety and depression that I’d ever encountered. And it was then that I realized that I wasn’t going to outgrow my mental issues the way I thought I would as a teenager. I wasn’t going to just grow up and leave all the anxiety and depression behind. I tried medication, but that just ended up making it worse.

Around this time, I had started taking steps to manage my anxiety. I started practicing mindfulness and facing my problems more directly rather than suppressing them. Part of it was a spiritual issue, so I took steps to learn more about my religion. It was a difficult time in my life. In fact, anxiety and depression have been difficult things to deal with my whole life. One of the most important lessons I ever learned, though, was that trying to fight your mental issues—be it anxiety, depression or intrusive thoughts—is actually counterproductive. Sometimes it just makes those feelings stronger.

But looking back, I’m glad that I lived with all this anxiety. Not because it’s pleasant in and of itself, but because the journey it forced me to go on helped me to understand myself better.

One of the most surprising pieces of advice I heard is to thank your anxiety. It’s just your mind trying to protect you from harm, but for whatever reason it goes into overdrive. So you simply tell your anxiety, “thank you, but I got this”. You acknowledge it and listen to it, instead of fight it, but reassure yourself that you are going to be ok.

Reaching the peak

At the end of Celeste, Madeline accepts this part of herself and literally embraces it. Through that acceptance, she gains new abilities that help her to finally climb to the mountain’s summit. I failed a lot in my playthrough of Celeste. But the game was designed to encourage you to keep on trying, and even if you activate the games Assist Mode, it never judges you or penalizes you for doing so. It’s as if the developers were trying to tell us that some people need more help in climbing their mountains and facing parts of themselves that they’d otherwise try to hide, and that there’s no shame in that.

Celeste faces the issue of mental health with a surprising amount of depth and honesty that I didn’t expect to see from a video game. Instead of the age-old message of “defeat your inner demons”, Celeste instead challenges us to evaluate ourselves—especially the negative parts—and learn to accept them. It’s no coincidence that Madeline calls the dark version of her “Part of Me”. It’s a far more hopeful and relevant message in a time where mental health is becoming more and more understood.

No matter how long the journey, no matter how hard the obstacles—no matter how many pebbles try to wear you down—you can make it to the top if you accept every part of yourself, no matter how many times you fall.

A while back I did an article called “Lessons from Luigi” where I examined some of the traits of my favourite Mario-universe character, the green-capped scaredy-cat Luigi. This time around, I’m shifting to Nintendo’s second most popular franchise, the Legend of Zelda.

Despite a shared love for the colour green, Link is almost the polar opposite of Luigi. He’s a hero who is often thrust into adventures without a second thought (not that he would complain much about it anyway, given his vocabulary consists of shouts and grunts). And just like Luigi, there’s a lot we can learn from this fictional hero that we can implement in our own lives.

He who stays silent stays safe

One of the defining characteristics about Link (apart from him being left-handed) is his silence. In the latest Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, every character in Hyrule was given a voice actor—a first for the series. Everyone, that is, except Link.

Link has always been a silent protagonist. Part of this, as explained by creator Shigeru Miyamoto, is to allow the player to implant some of their own personality onto Link. In fact, the only time Link was given a voice was in the Legend of Zelda cartoon and those dreaded Philips CDI games. And the first time you hear Link say, “Well excuuuuuuuuse me, princess” or “Gee, it sure is boooring around here”, you’ll be glad he stayed quiet.

Silence, however, is a trait that’s often underappreciated. A lot of people talk and talk and talk but don’t have anything meaningful to say. Not only that, excessive talking can lead to careless slip ups. That’s why Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told us,

“Whoever is silent has been saved.” (At-Tirmidhi)

Commentators say that it means you should be silent when there’s no good in speaking.

By remaining silent, you also learn to listen. The saying goes that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we should listen twice as much as we speak.

That said, some characters in the Zelda universe are a bit demanding when they continuously ask you to “HEY! LISTEN!”

It’s dangerous to go alone

The words spoken by a mysterious old man in a cave, where Link finds his sword, jump start Link’s quest in the very first Legend of Zelda game. During many of Link’s 2D adventures, Link went solo—apparently it’s only dangerous to go alone unless you’re wielding a sword. Ocarina of Time, the first 3D Zelda game, introduced us to Navi, Link’s fairy companion who is best known for demanding you to LISTEN.

Since then, most Zelda games have included a companion that travels with Link, whether it’s a fairy like Navi or Tatl, the impish princess Midna, Zelda’s ghost, Fii (a talking sword) or even three other Links. Some of Link’s travel companions spout wisdoms, like the King of Red Lions (a talking boat); or shrink him down to microscopic size, like Ezlo (a talking hat); or just generally get him around Hyrule, like Epona (a horse who surprisingly does not talk).

Or that owl who talks, even though everyone wishes he wouldn’t.

Regardless of who is with him, the point is that Link rarely travels alone. Something as big as saving the world is quite a burden to put on someone. In fact, much of the plot of Ocarina of Time involves Link rescuing sages—many of whom he met as a child, including his friend Saria—so they can help him defeat Ganon.

As for us, we may not be saving the world from evil pig-demons, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need others. Humans were created as social people. Everyone at some point desires companionship, either through friends or a spouse. Through others, we learn more about ourselves and the world around us. A famous verse in the Qur’an states:

“O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another.” (49:13)

Everyone has different experiences, different opinions and we can learn more from each other than we can learn by ourselves.

Brains over brawn

One thing the Zelda series is known for are its dungeons. Dungeons in the Legend of Zelda are often praised for their clever design. Each dungeon is a brain twister in its own right, crafted around an item or gimmick that constantly challenges you to think creatively (or check the online guide). Say to any Zelda gamer, “Tell me about the Water Temple” and they’ll gaze wistfully off into the distance while a shiver of dread runs up their back.

Completing a dungeon sets free something—be it an ally or an item—to help in your quest to defeat Ganon. So Link, and by extension the player, has to use brainpower to defeat the forces of evil.

Sometimes the solution to a problem isn’t immediately obvious. Not only that, sometimes it can be tempting to use force or brute strength to solve it. But often times the best solution involves thinking through it calmly and rationally to find the hidden “aha!” moment that solves the problem.

Courage at any age

Link’s actual age is never mentioned, but there are some adventures that take place when Link is a child. These include games like The Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, Ocarina of Time, and, most notably, Majora’s Mask.

Surprisingly, the moon looks much more threatening in-game.

Majora’s Mask is regarded as one of the darker entries in the series, and is considered the best Zelda game by some. Though Link is a child in this game, he is thrust into a world that is about to be crushed by a moon in 3 days unless he can stop it. Many of the themes of this adventure deal with loss, the inevitability of death, and even the 5 stages of grief. It’s a lot of weight for anyone to carry, never mind a child. Even in the game’s predecessor, Ocarina of Time, Link has to face some of the creepiest dungeons as a child, such as the dungeon at the bottom of the well (ending with a nightmare-inducing boss fight).

The point is that courage is not something restricted only to adults. Children can also learn to be courageous, whether it’s standing up to a bully, helping someone in need or even just saying what they believe is right. In our real world, children have had to be courageous in the face of terror and oppression. Notable examples include Anne Frank, who chronicled her life hiding from the Nazis, or Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban and continues to promote women’s education today. Children are in need of positive role models today, one who can teach them that success doesn’t mean selling yourself out, or simply gaining money by any possible means.

Get out there and explore

Pictured: not Hyrule

Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto cites his childhood as an inspiration for the series. As a child, he would explore the woods and caves behind his house. He wanted to translate the experience of exploration and discovery into a video game. This is why the first Legend of Zelda title is considered one of the first—and one of the most influential—open world video games.

While the main quest of a Zelda game is typically pretty linear, there are a lot of incentives for running off the beaten path and exploring. This is most obvious in the latest game, Breath of the Wild, where you can literally run and try to fight the final boss as soon as the game starts. You’ll most likely get wiped out before you can even set foot inside the castle, so the rest of the game is built around exploring Hyrule and gaining experience, skills and allies to defeat Ganon.

While the experience of boundless exploration can be replicated in a game like Breath of the Wild, it pales in comparison to the real world. The multitude of forests, mountains, lakes, rivers, plains and nature around you is available for you to explore.

In the Quran, we are told:

“Have you not seen that Allah has subjected for you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and has lavished His favours upon you, both seen and unseen? ˹Still˺ there are some who dispute about Allah without knowledge, or guidance, or an enlightening scripture.” (31:20)

So literally, there’s an entire world—an entire universe—that has been created for you to explore and take advantage of in a meaningful, measured way.

You don’t have to travel across the world to find something amazing. You can explore the city you live in, go on a hike, walk through a park, or even just stop and peer down at the micro-world of life going on in the soil around you. If you are near a national park or nature reserve, go and explore. Or even just look up at the stars.

Learn to swim

I’ll end this on a practical and personal note. When I was a kid I loved going to the swimming pool. I never took formal swimming lessons, so I mostly fumbled around in the water until I found a way to keep myself from drowning. Breaststroke, doggie paddle—none of these swimming techniques really stuck with me.

When I was 10 years old I played Ocarina of Time. One thing I paid attention to was how Link swims under water. It was this weird one-armed reach-and-pull while he kicked his feet. Nonetheless, I tried it out in a swimming pool and found that it actually worked. From then on I became a much better swimmer.

I’m sitting here on my computer in silence. But I know that any minute now, I could be whisked away by the cries of my 2-month-old daughter, Ayana. I’m on parental leave, and let me tell you, it’s given me a whole new respect for the word “parent”.

Before going on leave, one of my friends (a father of 3) told me that it’s not a vacation, it’s just a different kind of work. Oh, how true that is. I’ve been soaked on vomit, urine and poop; I’ve been driven out of bed at 2:30 in the morning; I’ve washed sheets and clothes countless times; I’ve broken down because she just won’t stop crying and I don’t know what to do. I’d say my cozy 9-5 office job is easier than this.

But at the end of it all, when I look at my daughter’s face and hear her trying to babble or see a growing smile creep across her cheeks, it’s all worth it.

New parents

When it comes to becoming a parent, my Dad once told me this: you’re suddenly given the most important job in the world, and there’s no manual or anything that comes with it.

I learned very quickly that you can read all the books you want on how to be a parent, but when that baby comes out and is in your hands your life changes in a way that no book can prepare you for. As a new parent, everything is part instinct, part trial-and-error.

Before my daughter was born, I had little-to-no experience with babies. I didn’t even change my first diaper until my daughter. People and co-workers would tell me stories of sleepless nights and diapers and crying. It’s like I was going into a battle zone, and was listening to veterans recount their stories of the Great Diaper Rash or the Battle of Bed Time. As a creature of habit, I worried that all of this chaos would break me. But, surprisingly, it didn’t. It’s like Nike: you just do it.

That’s not to say it was easy. The first night we brought Ayana home, she just wouldn’t stop crying no matter how much I consoled her or held her or rocked her and I just broke down. I didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, my wife is way more experienced with babies than I, and so she knew what to do. She took Ayana, fed her, and gave me a pep talk to cheer me up and told me I was doing ok. In fact, for the next week or so, it seemed like she was giving me a pep talk almost nightly.

I can’t say that being a good parent requires 2 people. But it definitely helps. When you have a baby who is relying on you and your spouse, you kind of have no choice but to find a way to make it work. Having someone there who you can ask, “is this normal?” and who can pick you up when you’re down is invaluable. As the second half of the Mother-Father combo team, my wife has been fantastic at calming both Ayana and me down when things get frantic, and I thank God for having her with me.

A baby really is a test of a marriage. A lot of that test comes from seeing how well you’re a team player. Sometimes, you gotta take that crying, screaming baby and rock her and sing to her no matter how useless it may seem, just so your spouse can get a little bit of extra sleep. It’s a test of how well you put others before yourself. Yes, your baby is dependent on you for survival, but your spouse is also looking to you to help them keep their sanity.

Trial and error

As I said above, half of being a parent is trial and error. And half of that is going through trials and learning from your errors. Over time, you learn and adapt to your baby’s attitudes and patterns of behavior. One of the coolest things for me was when I learned her different cries—a hungry cry is different from a fussy cry, and so on.

With Ayana, we learned that she loves motion. So if she’s upset or acting fussy, the first thing we do is pick her up and walk her around. She also enjoys whistling and humming. Thankfully, I have about 29 years of catchy video game tunes in my memory that I can access (she particularly enjoys songs from The Legend of Zelda). But even still, her comforts are constantly changing. At first, we could put her in a bassinet (which was really just a plastic IKEA tub that we lined with blankets) and rock her and that would calm her down. Now she prefers being carried around with her face looking forward so she can look at things. Slowly we’re beginning to see a personality emerge from her. For the first month it was mostly just eating and crying and pooping and sleeping. Now there’s times when she’s actively observing and learning to engage with the world around her.

If there’s one thing I learned it’s that with babies, you have to be flexible. You can have your schedule and make your plans, sure, but at any moment baby could decide it’s time to fuss or curl out a ripe load in the diaper. Not only that, but your ideas about how you’re going to raise your baby or interact with them may have to change (a classic example is strictly breastfeeding vs using formula sometimes vs using formula all the time). Just as babies are constantly learning about their world, so too are you constantly learning about your baby and what it means to be a parent.

My advice to new parents (whether you ask for it or not)

I’ll cut straight to it: no amount of reading or parenting advice (whether you ask for it or not) will prepare you for being a parent. It’s emotionally and physically taxing. You lose sleep—4 straight hours a night is considered a victory—and your child becomes your alarm clock. When one of my co-workers asked me “On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s it like being a parent?” and before I could answer, he added, “And there’s only one right answer.” At that time, as a new, sleep-deprived father, I would have said an 8 maximum, and even then that would have been stretching it. But you grow into it. You figure things out, and your instincts kick in.

You get used to the crying. You get used to lost sleep. You get used to the way your life changes. It takes time, but it gets better.

And I’ll also say this: when it comes to baby stuff—toys, clothes, cribs, accessories—simpler is better. That $800 oak veneer crib might match the decor of your bedroom nicely, but when your kid barely wants to sleep in it, or constantly soils the mattress, IKEA (or even pre-owned) might just be the way to go. Also, a lot of baby things seem to be designed to make you feel like a bad parent if you don’t buy it. Like, if your baby isn’t sitting in front of this super sensory development table with brain developing guitar tunes and vegan, non-GMO plastic toys, your baby is going to grow up stupid. They won’t.

The one thing I would say “go nuts” on is books. You’ve probably heard this already, but it’s never too early to read to your child. Pick up a bucket full of books from second-hand stores or Kijiji.

Weird things will happen to you when you become a parent. You get more protective. Randomly, you become emotional. You go from “I can’t do this” to “I got this” like a pendulum. But you’ll have these little moments, whether it’s a smile across your child’s face or the first time they fall asleep in your arms, that make it all worth it.

Full-time work

When I went on parental leave, I knew it wouldn’t be months of chilling and relaxing. Instead, it’s months of babysitting and working around the house. Every day is a full-time work of serving your family. And what little bit of time you get to yourself, you try and maximize it as much as possible.

With winter coming in, there’s few things that can test you like being holed up in a house for months with a crying, screaming, pooping baby while it’s snowing outside. But I’m enjoying the ride.

My wife and I often get glances when we’re walking down the street or in the mall, holding hands.

From the outside, I look like your typical white 20-something-year-old. You probably wouldn’t even know I’m Muslim, or that I had Indigenous ancestry. My wife has latte-coloured skin and wears a hijab. Visibly, you’d be able to tell she’s Muslim, but you might not know that her ancestry is marked by slavery. When people see us, they probably don’t think that we’re married, or follow the same religion. To the world, we probably seem like an oddity. But that doesn’t matter when you love someone.

Even today, some people are uncomfortable with the idea of two people of different ethnicities being together. And sadly, some people are violently opposed to the idea of different ethnic backgrounds at all.

Those who forget history…

Last week, the Charlottesville riot taught us that racism is alive and thriving in America, like a garden overrun by weeds (and, if I take the analogy further, practically being nurtured by its gardener, either by purpose or neglect). Though I live in Canada, Trump-style rhetoric has seeped into our own society and politics. We have our own alt-right media outlets that stir up hatred and grief. Alberta had the largest rise in hate crimes in Canada. Every now and then, I’ll see a truck drive by with the words “Trump” stickered on the rear window. One only needs to look at our last federal election and how the non-issue of niqab became a lightning rod for right wing politicians and their supporters.

What I’m saying is: we’re not immune to hatred. Nowhere on earth is.

Yet even as the alt-right continues to grow in prominence, bolstered by politicians like Trump or media outlets like Brietbart or The Rebel, we can’t give in. We can’t let fear and ignorance rule us. We can’t let it become normal. Otherwise the shadow of ethnic cleansing that has darkened our history will only continue to creep closer and closer. And let us not forget that ominous warning:

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

If we forget history, we are doomed to repeat the hatred, racism and, most frighteningly, genocide that marked the previous century.

Ancestry

Both mine and my wife’s ancestry is marked by racial prejudice. My wife is Guyanese. Guyana is a nation that was colonized by several European nations, all of which used slaves and labourers from Africa, India and China. On my side, just a few generations ago, my great grandmother and her siblings were subjected to residential schools that tried to purge them of their Indigenous language, practices and identity. Though my skin is white, for me to think that that makes me better than anyone would be a gross insult to my faith, my history, my wife and her history.

At its core, the idea persists that white nations are inherently purer or more advanced than all other ethnicities. This dangerous idea has been perpetuated throughout history: the idea that your worth is determined by your skin colour.

This idea is filth.

It is rotten.

It is against everything any person with decency would hold true.

A little bit of knowledge goes a long way in this regard. As Sheikh Yasir Qadhi mentions in a Friday sermon, no one race has dominated human history. The Muslim empires dominated much of the world from the 8th to 13th century. Prior to them, it was the Romans; after them, the Renaissance in Italy. Today, technological superiority is held by Western nations.

But mere technological superiority is no standard by which a nation’s merit can be judged. That superiority is built on the backs of slaves and colonial oppression. Morals and human rights can’t easily be quantified, but I would argue they are far more worthy than technological achievement or gross GDP alone. Focusing only on these material things will only result in a decay of morals.

As Muhamad Asad, an Austrian convert, wrote in his book, The Road to Mecca,

“…and all our machines and skyscrapers could do nothing to restore the broken wholeness of our souls.”

Piety and good action

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said in his final sermon,

“An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action.”

This idea was radical among the Arabian tribes of his time, since many felt their honour was tied to their lineage (an idea ironically echoed by white nationalists).

In a masterful social and ethical move, Prophet Muhammad designated a poor, black slave named Bilal to be the first person to ascend to the top of the Ka’bah—the holy mosque in Mecca—and give the call to prayer. From then on, Bilal was the one to give the call to prayer, and his words have been echoed by Muslims of all ethnicities and economic statuses ever since. It was meant to show that ethnicity and status don’t matter in the sight of God. What matters is what is in our hearts.

The Quran even alludes to this when God says,

“O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.”(Quran, 43:13)

It’s a shame that, 1400 years later, people still don’t understand this.

True colours

The reactions to the Charlottesville riots have shown the true colours of people, such as Trump’s refusal to condemn white nationists, or on the other hand the many tech companies (such as Twitter, Apple and GoDaddy) that are actively hunting down racist or white supremacist organizations that use their service. It was a tragic incident with a tragic failure in leadership from the president. It has resulted in swift and strong repercussions with people around the world who still have a moral conscience.

The alt-right, neo-nazis, white nationalists, all of these hate groups have been bolstered by an increasing presence in politics—not just Trump, but also in France’s Marine LePen, or the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders. In America, we are seeing the sad and harsh realities of what living under such an ideology entails. So when our leaders fail in providing moral leadership, then it falls on us to stand in whatever way we can to keep the shadows at bay. Do what you can. Speak up about it. Add your voice to the many who oppose such despicable beliefs. You can do it in everyday things: be proud of your heritage. Educate people about your culture, about history. If you have friends whose ethnicity is different from yours, stand by them.

If your wife is from a different ethnicity, hold her hand in public and ignore the stares.

Our hands are all the same. They are made to be interlocked, to fit together regardless of skin colour.

In Islam, we believe that the first racist was Iblis (Satan). He believed he was better than Adam simply because Adam was created from earth, and Iblis was created from fire.

And so when someone from our one human family thinks that they are better than someone else just because of how they were born, then they act in the spirit of Satan.

However, this does not give us free license to stoop to their level of mob-mentality and blind violence. We have to be better than those who are fueled by hate.

Regardless of our beliefs, we are all human. We bleed red, no matter the colour of our skin or flag. To face hatred and evil, we must be better. We must let our true colours be those of love, hope and optimism, not hate and division.

“Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond to evil with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend.” (Quran, 41:34)

It’s a question everyone asks at some point: if there is a God, why do bad things happen? It can also be phrased in other ways, like “Why does God allow evil?” or “Why is there evil if God is merciful?”. It’s something that philosophers and thinkers have grappled with for centuries.

Every religion has its answers to this question. In this article, I don’t claim to have the definitive answer of the problem of evil. Rather, these are my thoughts on how we can approach the problem of evil from an Islamic point of view, gathered from various sources. Hopefully at the end of these articles, we’ll be able to arrive at a better understanding of why bad things happen, the wisdom behind it all, and how to respond to it.

But first: God

Before we continue there’s a few things you need to know how Muslims understand God.

For starters, we believe that God is one and has absolute knowledge and control over everything. We believe that God is merciful. In fact, every chapter of the Quran except one opens with the words “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem”, which roughly translates to “In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.” The two names of God that appear most frequently in the Quran are Ar-Rahman (The Most Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The Most Merciful).

God’s mercy is far beyond our human concept of mercy, since God’s attributes are divine and perfect. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that God’s mercy is greater than what a mother has for her child. Similarly, we also understand that among God’s attributes is His absolute justice. And, finally, that God doesn’t do anything without a purpose.

Responsibility

So if God exists, why do bad things happen? The go-to answer that people often hear is that it’s all part of God’s plan. While this is true, it sometimes leaves a lot of people dissatisfied, and understandably so. As humans, we’re eager; we want to know the reason behind everything that happens in the world, even if it’s beyond our reach. And so while that answer is true, there are other wisdoms we can look into to understand why God allows bad things to happen.

A large part of understanding the problem of evil is understanding free will and destiny. This might seem like a separate topic on its own, but the two are actually connected. The question that often comes up in the discussion of free will and destiny is this: “If everything is pre-destined, how can we have free will?” I’ll answer with one word: responsibility.

God’s knowledge of everything that is meant to occur doesn’t excuse us from having the responsibility to act on our free will.

To highlight this, we need to go way back to the story of Adam and Satan. A lengthy lecture by Noman Ali Khan covers this topic in depth, as well as its relation to free will and destiny, but I’ll cover the basics below.

Adam and Satan

Like the other 3 monotheistic faiths, Islam states that humans are a unique creation, descended from the first human, Adam (as a side-note, the implications this has on the theory of evolution are fascinating from an Islamic perspective, but I’ll cover that in another article, God willing). Adam and his wife Hawa (Eve in Biblical tradition) were created by God and lived in Paradise. However, Iblis—the original name of Satan (Lucifer in Biblical tradition)—tempted them to disobey God’s command and eat from the forbidden tree. However, when they were brought before God for their sin, they responded in opposite ways.

In the Quran we see that Adam says,

“Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If you do not forgive us and do not bestow upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.” (7:23)

On the other hand, Satan’s response is this:

“My Lord, since You made me go astray, I swear that I shall beautify for them (evils) on the earth, and shall lead all of them astray…” (15:39)

Why is this important?

God already knew that this would happen: He knew even before He created Adam that Adam—and, by extension, every one of us—would sin. He knew that all of this would happen. And yet, when faced with their sins, Adam and Satan respond in different ways.

Adam takes responsibility for his actions. Satan does not.

Adam admits to his own wrongdoing. Satan blames God.

It’s also worth noting that in Islamic tradition, Satan was not a fallen angel, but was instead another creation of God called a jinn (if you’ve watched Aladdin, that’s where the word “genie” comes from). Muslims believe that angels, unlike humans and jinn, have no free will and obey God’s commands perfectly.

So how does this affect us?

When we take responsibility for our actions and admit to our own shortcomings and faults, we are acting like Adam—who was forgiven for his mistake.

But when we place the blame on God, or on others, and act arrogantly, we act like Satan—who was cursed by God.

So where is God’s justice? Why does God allow these innocent people to starve and be killed?

An anonymous author once wrote, “Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world, when He could do something about it…but I’m afraid He may ask me the same question.”

Mankind has a collective responsibility for the well-being of each other and the planet. We can’t expect God to suddenly descend from heaven and suddenly fix all the problems that we created. He knows, instead, that we have the potential to fix these problems ourselves. This is reflected in the Quran when God tells the angels, before creating Adam:

“I am going to place a khalifa on earth.” They asked ˹God˺, “Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” God responded, “I know what you do not know.” (2:30)

The word “khalifa” roughly means “successive human authority”, and carries with it the implications of a steward, vicegerent or representative. It’s telling that the angels are concerned that God’s creation will spread corruption and bloodshed. But even more telling is God’s response: “I know what you do not know.”

What is it that God is referring to? One commentary states that He knows the potential that mankind has to do good. The act of doing good for people and for the planet is a choice that we all make. The more influence, power and money we have, the bigger our responsibility is. Unfortunately, most people choose to forget that responsibility.

The majority of problems in the world occur from a small group of corrupt people with big influence, big money or big weapons—and small hearts. From their choice to do wrong, they bring about corruption in the world.

Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people’s hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste ˹the consequences of˺ some of their deeds and perhaps they might return ˹to the Right Path˺. (30:41)

In summary, we’ve seen that the problem of evil comes down to a problem with people, not with God. We all have the responsibility to act correctly, to do what is right, and the actions we choose to do have consequences on ourselves and on others.

However, this is only one part of the equation. As I mentioned above, Muslims believe that God is just. Therefore, we believe that everyone is held accountable for their actions and will have them repaid, either in this life or, more severely, in the next life.

The concept of the Hereafter is also key to fully understanding why evil occurs in the world. It’s also key to understanding why things happen that are beyond our control—why healthy people suddenly become sick, why accidents happen, and so on.

The first time I fasted I was 18. I remember the splitting headache more than anything—always the headaches. Hunger I can manage, but the headaches are the ones that knock me down. I remember rushing home and preparing a massive dinner of Kraft Dinner, sandwiches, and a bevy of other dishes. And then, much to my surprise, I was barely able to stomach it. I was shocked to find that my stomach had shrunk its capacity during my fast.

From then on I was a bit more conservative with my iftar dinner.

I started fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. My manager did the same, and so I figured I would try it as well. It is a voluntary and highly commendable act in Islam. Prophet Muhammad said, “Deeds are shown (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays, and I like my deeds to be shown when I am fasting.” (Tirmidhi). It’s a good way to train yourself to fast the month of Ramadan.

On the outside, Ramadan can seem like a near-impossible task, especially in a place like Edmonton where fasting can last up to 16 hours in the hot summer months. My mom, being a mom, always worried about my fasting. Every Ramadan she would exclaim, “…not even water?” But the human body is an amazing piece of work, and within a few days your body can adjust to your new schedule. Plus, there’s just something that God placed in the month of Ramadan that makes it easier to fast than any other time throughout the year.

With Ramadan, however, comes a time of self-reflection and analysis. The physical fast where you deprive yourself of food and drink sets the stage for a much harder task: reforming yourself. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, Muslims are also supposed to hold themselves back from anger, backbiting, jealousy, swearing—any and all vices. The Prophet said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink.” (Bukhari).

For myself the challenge of Ramadan doesn’t come from the physical fast. I have a desk job, and the office is well air-conditioned, thank God. For me, the challenge comes from the personal and spiritual struggle of self-reflection and reformation.

The Junkyard of the Self

Someone once told me, “Purification of the heart doesn’t begin until you walk through the junkyard of the self.” For many years now, Ramadan has become a time to walk through that junkyard and see what debris and refuse has piled up in there.

Every year, another part of me is shed as the month progresses. It’s a process of weeding out the undesireables, getting rid of things about myself that I didn’t like, clearing out the remnants of things I’d gotten rid of, or letting go of things that I realized that I no longer needed. It sounds easy in a sentence, cleaning your heart can be a painful struggle. In a way, it’s jihad.

The prominent Islamic scholar, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, indicated that jihad is not limited to military combat, but it refers to striving hard and struggling against one’s own self, against impulses of the devil, and in enjoining the doing of what is right and good and forbidding the doing of what is wrong and evil in the society.

The struggle to reform oneself is not something taken lightly. In the Qur’an, the 75th surah starts with God saying, “And I do swear by the self-reproaching soul.” (75:2). When God swears by something in the Qur’an He wants to draw attention to its importance. One commentary on this verse is that the Muslim should be self-critical in both good and bad things. To me, that means being critical of how well you are doing good—doing things with excellence and not just passively—as well as the negative aspects of your self.

It’s no surprise that the month of self-reformation is also the month of fasting. By depriving ourselves of water and food, we are forced to confront ourselves without the comfort of basic necessities. God knows our true selves, and purifying the heart is a means of coming closer to being the person that God knows we can be.

It’s a hard walk through that junkyard. But if you’re willing to grit your teeth and bear through it, you’ll find yourself lighter when you come out on the other side.

]]>https://muslisms.com/2017/06/10/ramadan-reflections/feed/2aaronwannamakerRamadan-MoonRe-watching ‘An American Tail’ in the Trump Agehttps://muslisms.com/2017/05/12/re-watching-an-american-tail-in-the-trump-age/
https://muslisms.com/2017/05/12/re-watching-an-american-tail-in-the-trump-age/#respondFri, 12 May 2017 11:06:35 +0000http://muslisms.com/?p=1015Continue reading Re-watching ‘An American Tail’ in the Trump Age]]>Poster from IMDB

One of my favourite movies as a child was An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. I watched it a lot, but didn’t often watch its predecessor, Don Bluth’s original 1986 animated movie, An American Tail. I recently re-watched the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family’s journey to the “Land of the Free”. Much to my surprise, the film’s story of hopeful immigrants traveling to America is relevant today, but in a different way than what it originally intended.

It strikes a different tone in post-Trump America than it did when it first came out. It presents a hopeful vision of America that ultimately represents a new beginning for immigrants, despite it being occasionally dark underneath the surface. When viewed today, however, it seems to remind us of the heart that America has lost among a surge of white nationalism, racism and walls.

The movie is set in the late 1880s, and follows a young Russian mouse named Fievel whose family flees when their village is attacked and burned down by Cossacks. The Mousekewitz family travels to America, a land where Fievel’s father boasts, “There are no cats” (more on that in a minute). Fievel is separated from his family and goes on an adventure to find them—and in doing so learns that there are, indeed, cats in America.

The movie uses cats as a stand in for oppression—sometimes playfully as the Russian Cossack cats sport huge ushanka-type hats. It reminds me of Art Spiegleman’s excellent graphic novel Maus, where cats represent the Nazis and mice represent the Jews. Given that the film is produced by Steven Spielberg, it wouldn’t surprise me if Maus served as an inspiration for An American Tail.

The movie touches on the less-positive aspects of the immigrant experience. Exploitation, poverty, language barriers, hopelessness, fear—but also the moments of hope and humanity. Through Fievel’s adventures in America, he is kidnapped into child labour, captured by a mob of cats, taunted by street kids, and always one step away from his family. But he is also rescued from the ocean by a pigeon, befriends an older kid named Tony, and makes friends with a loveably dimwitted cat named Tiger.

The movie is intercut with human scenes to remind us that even though we’re following a family of mice, similar things happened to real people in their journey to the Land of Opportunity. And often with less than cartoon-friendly results.

The Statue of Liberty is a centerpiece of the movie. When the movie starts, the iconic statue is just about to be finished construction. It stands as a beacon of hope for those escaping oppression for the chance at a new beginning. Even though the fabled land of America hides a seedy underworld—and that cats do, in fact, live in there— it is a reminder of the hope and optimism it is supposed to represent.

***

If the Statue of Liberty was built today, she’d sport a bulletproof vest, aviators, with a palm outstretched in a “stop” position and handcuffs at her side.

Optimism and hope have been replaced by paranoia and suspicion. Oppressed people around the world, such as those in Syria, would do almost anything to secure even a chance at escaping to the United States. But today, the cats are in the White House. And every one of them seems to forget that America was built by immigrants. Sometimes it was by force; other times, by choice, by those seeking sanctuary. The black slaves from Africa, in time, developed their own roots and descendants in American’s cultural mileau. The Chinese miners and railway workers lived in ghettos typically labelled “Chinatown”, and adopted their cuisine to suite American tastes—to the point where China doesn’t even recognize American Chinese food. From 1870 to the 1920s, Arab immigrants fled the growing tensions in the Middle East to begin their new lives in America, and worked in steel and automobile factories. New York has long been an immigrant city, since it was the main port for ships crossing the ocean. Many European cultures, especially Irish, grew with the city.

An American Tail is, at its heart, a kids movie. It’s a simplified take on the immigrant experience. Yet it subtly reminds us of the hope that these people carry with them, and the struggles they go through just to start a new life. It would do everyone well to remember that the privileged lifestyle we live—which many can only dream of having—was only made possible by the hands of those who came across the ocean and settled themselves here. America was built largely by immigrants. Their stories are a part of the story of the land.

Even as fear mongering and racism continue to simmer beneath the surface, it would do everyone well to fight against it, and see the humanity above it all.

A few weeks ago, the internet experienced a minor rumble about a story regarding a supposed fatwa issued by 42 clerics against Indian singer Nahid Afrin. International media caught wind and it became a story about religious clergy banning someone’s freedom of expression. As is the case with such a story, the world got riled up.

Now, I’m not here to comment on the story or vilify or condemn one party over the other. Instead, I’m using this story as a launching point for my own personal story about my relationship with music.

Growing with music

Music was always a central piece of home.

As a kid the synth-rock of 80s bands like Genesis or Men Without Hats would blast from our home, car or truck stereo—Mom’s music of choice. Occasionally, the smooth, warm tones of Dad’s jazz CDs would be played instead, or the sweeping gentle epicness of classical music would warm my heart as it played by the fireplace. My brother would listen to pretty much anything.

For myself, I mostly ignored the kind of songs you’d hear on the radio. Sure I’d gladly listen to bands like Sum 41, Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, and even System of a Down in my teens. But I found myself drawn to two polar opposite sounds: orchestral and techno. Specifically, I became captivated with film soundtracks and video game remixes. The wide array of styles and sounds and loops and movements were fed into my life. While watching a movie, I could usually guess the composer based on the style of music—the quirky oddities of Danny Elfman were different from the bass-heavy electronic fusion of Hans Zimmer were different from the sweeping orchestral sounds of Howard Shore. And video games, well, you wouldn’t think that the Super Mario Bros. theme could be remixed into everything from a classical ensemble to a smoky jazz piece to a heavy metal head banger.

I took piano lessons for almost 5 years and played in band throughout school. In Grade 7, the school band played at the Edmonton Winspear Center and I was given a short piano solo. I took after-school band throughout High School. This eventually grew into a hobby of composing music on the computer, using Garage Band or Cakewalk. I even scored a few stop-motion LEGO movies that I made, along with a couple computer-animation projects I did for school.

In short, music was an integral part of my life. And, as with many things about my life, that changed after I became Muslim.

Music, post-Muslim

After becoming a Muslim, many things in my life changed. The man who would be my mentor for over 5 years was, at least initially, quite strict when it came to music. I was told that music—music in general—was haram, or forbidden.

This was more than a little difficult for me.

All those years of piano lessons, all those movie soundtracks, all the sweeping sounds that tickled my ears and raised the hairs on my skin—all of that was now for nothing. I would often catch myself listening to the background music of a movie or a familiar song while walking through the grocery aisles.

As the years went on, I would find myself getting more and more distracted by music. I tried to tune it out of my life as much as I could, even sometimes playing video games on silent. At the time I worked at The Source, and we had music playing in the background to demo stereos. Over time, my boss/mentor began to ease up on his restrictions of music; basically as long as it wasn’t crass, he allowed it to play in the background. I started making mix CDs to play in store—the usual collection of movie and video game music.

As with much of my faith, I wasn’t content with simply being told that something was haram; I wanted to know the reasons why. So I continued my search into Islam and music.

Music in Islam

The issue of music in Islam is not as black-and-white an issue as people make it out to be. The status of music in Islam has been widely debated throughout history. The opinions range from “complete and total ban” to “everything is permissible as long as it’s not vulgar”.

I’m far from a scholar, so I won’t be giving any fatwas or ruling or anything like that. I’ll merely be sharing some of the little bits I’ve learned from my own study into the subject.

So the main point of contention is with regards to the use of instruments in music. This comes from a hadith where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“There will be a group of my people who will make permissible for themselves adultery, pure silk, intoxicants and musical instruments.” (Bukhari).

A general rule in Islam is that things are permissible unless otherwise stated by a clear proof or evidence. Without getting into too much technical detail, proof must come from the Qur’an or the Sunnah (the life of the Prophet). Some exceptions do exist; for instance, in the Sunnah there is evidence that instruments like the duff (a type of drum) were allowed.

Now, it would seem like this is a cut-and-dry evidence—and for many, many people and scholars it is. However, some scholars, including well-known ones like Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, state that there is a problem with the chain of narration for the hadith, and so it can’t be used as evidence for an Islamic ruling. His status on the ruling of music is that it is permissible, with instruments, based on this ruling. Most scholars, however, say that the chain is fine and the ruling stands.

In addition to the above, other things that continue to be debated include:

using electronic or synthesized sounds for music (eg dubstep, techno, or synth instruments)

using computers to modify someone’s voice to sound like an instrument

what types of percussion instruments are restricted (such as string, air or percussion instruments)

when it’s permissible to listen to music

Some exceptions do exist; for instance, in the Sunnah there is evidence that instruments like the duff (a type of drum) were allowed. Some scholars argue that prohibiting music is based on the context of the song; obviously, promiscuous beats like Nicki Manaj would be off the list, but if the meaning is good then it’s ok. There’s also a narration in Buhkhari where a girl was singing a song and playing the tambourine, and her lyrics contained the words, “There is a prophet among us who knows what will happen tomorrow”. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Do not say this, but continue saying what you have said before.” From what I learned, there’s also a difference between just hearing music, like in the background, and actively listening to it.

I waffled back and forth on the issue for a long time. Sometimes I would be drawn back into listening to music by a particularly moving score, or a song that really stuck with me. Then I would inevitably feel guilty and start pushing music away again—and eventually it would come back. It was like being on the end of a metronome, going from one end to the other, back and forth, without really finding a center.

Sometimes I would even play a piano if I saw one. The songs I knew—like the Mario Bros. theme, or Fur Elise—would drip back across my fingers like water as I played, my muscle memory knowing almost intuitively where to land on each key. But even still, I worried that I was doing something wrong. It was a restless spot in my heart, one that I needed to find some closure with.

What I listen to today

I attended Sheikh Saad Tasleem’s course called “The Fiqh of Chilling”, through Al Maghrib Institute, which covered entertainment in Islam.

We dissected the issue of music for several hours. Keep in mind that this is not a fatwa but a position that I learned in the class and which I feel is strongest, based on the evidence presented. After attending the class, I feel like I landed on a happy middle ground that I’m comfortable with.

The conclusions we drew from the class is that wind and string instruments were, basically, a no-go. Some exceptions existed in the form of percussion instruments. But anything that was exclusively vocal was ok, even if the vocals were altered to sound like instruments.

So what do I listen to today?

Generally, permissible forms of music are songs that contain Islamic themes and are done so without instruments. You won’t find many people arguing about that. Some Muslim artists, like Maher Zain, Native Deen and Dawud Wharnsby, have both instrumental and vocal-only versions of their songs to please both crowds.

From there I also began to explore the world of beatboxing and acapella more thoroughly. I learned that, just like all other genres of music, there is a broad range of sounds and styles from many different artists. You have artists like Edmonton-born Mike Thompkins, who uses a mix of beatboxing and vocal manipulation to create a lot of electronic and dubstep songs (such as a surprising cover of “Harder Better Faster Stronger”). Peter Hollens has a wide range of folk, pop and alternative covers, and even covers a lot of songs from Lord of the Rings and Disney. Surprisingly, video game acapella is another sub-genre that surprised me with its range. The most popular artist is Smooth McGroove, who does surprisingly faithful covers of video game music using just his voice (and ongoing cameos from his black cat) as well as Mr. Dooves.

I wasn’t much of a fan of nasheeds in my early days as a Muslim. The first nasheed group I gravitated towards was Native Deen. In fact, their song “Labayk” helped teach me how to say the talbiya to be recited while I was on Hajj. As I started listening to more nasheeds I found artists that I enjoyed. Maher Zain’s love songs became a shared favourite between me and my wife. Talib Al-Habib has a unique almost Celtic feel to his nasheeds, coupled with a subtle drum beat, that give his songs a unique flavor.

Much to my surprise, there has been a lot of amazing music that you can make without instruments.

Slowing down the metronome

The debate and considerations regarding music are far more extensive than I can cover here. The point is that these differences do exist. And as such, I never go around telling people that “music is haram”. I ran the gamut of music’s permissibility. I continuously went from one end of the spectrum to the other, like a metronome. Eventually settled on what I felt to be the middle ground. To some Muslims, it isn’t, and they have their evidence. Some Muslims will listen to the orchestra; some will only listen to the songs of birds.